Ultimate Travel Company’s Luxury Antarctic Tour for 100th Anniversary of Shackleton Expedition
To mark the anniversary of Britain’s legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton, The Ultimate Travel Company will set sail for the Antarctic in January 2016, with a private collection of diary extracts and photography.
Roddie Wordie—grandson of Shackleton expedition member, Sir James Wordie—will be on board with his grandfather’s diary extracts—many of which have never been seen before.
Retracing the steps of the historic Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917, the tour will make its way from Ushuaia via the Falklands and South Georgia, Argentina to the white continent itself, Antarctica.
For the centenary of the Shackleton expedition, the vessel will attempt to visit Elephant Island, the site where half of Shackleton’s crew were stranded for four months after the sinking of Endurance and finally rescued by Shackleton himself.
The collection of diary entries highlight the crew’s survival instincts and the extremities endured during the severe weather conditions.
Shackleton’s expedition is often considered the final major voyage to explore the Antarctic, its audacious main goal being to complete the first land-based crossing of the continent.
Roddie Wordie said:
“It’s so exciting to read from Grandfather’s diary of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and visit these same places as described in the diary. It’ll be a unique experience since the diary has never been published and very few people outside the family have had an opportunity to read this brilliantly detailed account.”
To provide a more modern backdrop to the theme of polar exploration, Henry Worsley, seasoned adventurer and ex-Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, will be joining the cruise immediately after his attempted solo, unsupported, crossing of the Antarctic Peninsula. He’ll be sharing his experiences of the arduous 80 day, 1,000 mile expedition with the tour members - enriching the tour with first-hand experience.
Nick Van Gruisen, Director of The Ultimate Travel Company, said:
“Having visited Antarctica to commemorate Scott’s centennial of his doomed expedition a few years ago, it is with great excitement and interest that I look forward to revisiting the area in further depth learning of Shackleton’s equally heroic but less tragic journey. To share this experience with Henry Worsely, one of Antarctica’s greatest living explorers and Roddie Wordie the grandson of the original expedition’s Geologist is a great privilege - their knowledge of the events and the memorabilia they will bring will add an extra dimension to make this a truly unique visit.”
